Doctor says 'no' to pub

A LIVERPOOL trauma surgeon has spoken out against a 24-hour pub proposed for Casula, saying it could lead to a greater frequency of violence in the area.

John Crozier, a Liverpool-based doctor and member of the national trauma committee with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said a significant amount of preventable injury was a consequence of alcohol consumption either by the people injured or by the people who injured them.

"There is a 20 per cent increase in the probability of an event at a licensed premises requiring a police response or presentation to the healthcare system every hour after midnight," Dr Crozier said. "As an acknowledgment of the level of harm that exists, there has been a moratorium on 24-hour liquor licences in NSW since 2009."

A group of Casula residents who live near the Hume Highway site have formed the Casula Community Group for Responsible Planning to protest against the application.

They say they don't want a pub to open in the primarily residential area, less than 200 metres from Casula Public School.

Pupils of the school signed a petition opposing the pub.

Dr Crozier said it was important for Liverpool Council to take the wishes of the community — many of whom have lived locally for generations — into account when assessing the application.

A Liverpool Council spokeswoman said the development application had attracted a lot of public interest.

"The council is in receipt of 105 submissions opposing the development application as well as two petitions opposed to the development which have a total of 315 signatures," she said.

She said that only one submission supported the application.

"At this stage, the development application is in the early phases of the assessment period," she said.